First Sunday after Trinity

Today, as you know, is a national holiday, Father’s Day. You may have noticed that I generally don’t allow secular holidays to intrude much, if at all, upon our worship. Today, I’m going to make an exception and speak on the subject about fathers. God, in His essence, defines fatherhood and shows us what an ideal father is. As He is the gracious Father to all His children, so earthly fathers are to be to their children. As our Lord Jesus loved His bride, the Church, and gave His life for her, so ought men to love their wives. There is nothing toxic about the masculinity of Christ. He is the only perfect example of what God intends men to be. And because the world hates everything about God, it must hate everything that has to do with fathers, husbands, and masculinity in general.

Even though today is father’s day, our sinful world, under Satan’s direction and misdirection, is at war with fathers. It must be because it is at war with God. He is, by definition, everything that our world hates and calls toxic. The kingdom of God is the ultimate patriarchy, in which all things in heaven and earth are subject to His gracious rule. God is the Father, who loves, provides for, and yes, chastises His children for their good. And, according to Christ’s human nature, we can say that God is truly masculine—so much so, that we appear feminine in comparison. All members of the Church, whether men or women, make up the one bride of Christ.

Already, that language seems out of sync with what our society now considers polite language. Whether we realize it or not, we have all been suffering from a propaganda campaign against God the Father and His created order. Let me give some examples. Have you ever heard of toxic femininity? Of course not. It doesn’t exist, and for the most part, our culture extols the virtues of a mother’s love. But fathers? They represent the patriarchy, which, as we are told, is the source of all society’s ills. Fathers are presented in movies as the out of touch arbiters of ancient morals, if not as outright abusers. The best case portrayal of a father you’re likely to see is Disney’s bumbling idiot, whose chief purpose is to walk the princess down the aisle, but otherwise, is spineless. The ideal man is sensitive and overly effeminate. A good husband is one who supports his wife’s decisions for their children.

All of this is to say that Satan has been wildly successful in his program of catechesis against fatherhood. Has he been successful with you? Let’s find out. Allow me to read what God says about fathers and husbands in his Holy Word: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph 6:4) “The husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be subject to their own husbands in everything”(Eph 5:22–24). “Husbands, give honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as heirs together of the grace of life. Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won by the conduct of their wives” (1 Pet 3:5, 1). “Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve” (1 Tim 2:11).

The level of discomfort you feel as I read these passages is the degree to which Satan’s catechesis has successfully infected your heart and mind. The Word of God teaches that men are to be the head of the household and women are to be subordinate. If this sounds strange and harsh to your ears, it is because your thinking has been formed by a source other than God’s Word. If it sounds oppressive, it is because you are operating under worldly definitions of what is good and what is evil. But there is no greater blessing on this earth than to live under God’s Word within His created order. God intends for men to be men. He intends for each father to be the spiritual leader in his home, imitating Christ’s example as he cares for his wife, raising their children together in the training and admonition of the Lord.

This is a blessed task, but no easy one, because our enemy never rests. He is catechizing your children 24/7 through the media, through entertainment, through peer pressure, and by a thousand other voices. Fathers, if the last biblical instruction your children had was in preparation for confirmation, then you are abdicating your role as spiritual leader of your home. Every section of Luther’s Catechism begins with the direction: “as the head of the family should teach it in a simple way to his household.” It is your job to teach your children the faith. The pastor’s job is to teach you, your children, and assist you in your teaching and service to your subordinates, to supplement what happens at home.

More than anything else, more than a good education, more than a lucrative career, more than food and clothing and a roof over their heads, your children need to be given a love for the Word of God. They need to be convinced by your example that there is no greater earthly treasure. The rich man in the Gospel text, along with his five brothers, are negative examples of those who had everything that parents might wish for their children—clothed in purple and fine linen and feasting sumptuously every day—and yet were without love for God’s Word.

The responsibility to impart this love falls squarely upon the father’s shoulders, and yet mother’s also have a huge role to play. Each of them is to aid, support, and encourage her husband in this task, and if necessary hold him accountable and rebuke him when he shirks his duty. And sadly, in our broken world, there are many mothers who have no choice but to shoulder the entire burden of raising godly children. When the first-in-command falls or abandons his sword on the battlefield, the second-in-command must pick it up and lead the charge. May God bless and reward this faithful labor for the sake of His children.

And finally, if you are a child, or a young man or young woman, you cannot ultimately blame your parents if you fall away from the faith. Faith alone saves, but not your grandmother’s faith—the faith that God gives to you. And that faith comes only by hearing, studying, and learning the Word of God. The patterns you set in place now will guide you for the rest of your life. Do you love God’s Word? How would anyone know? What have you learned of it lately? When did you last open your Bible and read it on your own? Should the day come that you are blessed with a godly spouse and children, you will then be responsible for their eternal souls, as your parents have been for yours. God will hold you accountable for teaching your children the faith. But it’s difficult to teach what you don’t know, or have forgotten. You are a student of math or chemistry or English only for a few short years. But you are a student of God’s Word for life. As the rich man learned too late, nothing else in this life ultimately matters.

Dear Christians, we are in a war for the souls of our children, and fathers are the vanguard of our army. No matter what the world may say about fatherhood, we will always need men to rise up and be men, following, however imperfectly, the example of our Lord Jesus, who gave up His life for His bride, the Church. May God grant this to us, for the sake of Jesus Christ, His Son. Amen.